Frequently Asked Questions

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Whilst many questions on cane toads are addressed here, it is worthwhile visiting CaneToadsinOz.com for great, up to date scientific information
presented in easy to understand terms by Dr Richard Shine, a
specialist in cane toads. There, he and his team debunk many of
the common cane toad myths around.

Frogs, like any other native creatures (at least) are
valuable and offer things to the environment that are
unique to the frog world. Without them, you'd be
surprised at just how much of an ecosystem would collapse,
like removing the capstone from an archway. Hence, they can
be referred to as a 'capstone species'.

It is also widely believed that frogs are sensitive
indicators of the general health of the environment because
of their permeable skins that are affected by water, soil
and air quality (Collins and Storfer, 2003; Elzinga et
al. 2001). Thus, if any of these factors are found to
be in poor condition, then there is a good chance frogs
will not be present, or at the very least unhealthy. It is
also not exaggerating to say that there are likely to be
other organisms in the vicinity that are also undergoing
some form of health-related stress.

Contrary to how it seems with humans, in the frog world the
males are the ones that do all the 'talking', or
more accurately, calling. Males call to attract a female to
mate and to warn off other males. Each frog species has
it's own distinct call.

Chytrid fungus

Chyrtid (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) is a fungus that is
capable of killing entire amphibian populations whilst causing sporadic deaths on others,
via the infectious Chytridiomycosis disease. It was discovered in 1993 amongst dead
and dying Queensland frogs, and has since been identified in all Australian States, including the
Australian Capital Territory, but not the Northern Territory. The disease also exists in
Africa, the Americas, Europe, New Zealand and Asia but is thought to have arrived in Australia from
one of these countries. Despite the numerous locations where Chytrid fungus exists, it is relatively confined to cool, wet climates.

The disease has proven very effective in reducing frog populations,
causing mass mortality in some species whilst others have appeared less susceptible.
In Australia, at least four species appear to have become extinct, of which
the disease was implicated as the primary factor. These include
two local South East QLD species, the Southern Gastric-brooding Frog
(Rheobatrachus silus) and the Southern Day Frog (Taudactylus diurnus).
Both species occurred along the Blackall-Conondale Ranges prior to their
apparent extinction between 1979 and 1981. Nearly a dozen more
species have experienced dramatic declines and now have lower abundances and smaller
distributions.

Amphibians have very unique skin which allows for the passage and regulation
of water and electrolytes between the frog and its outside environment.
Unfortunately, this means frog skin is very susceptible to invasion by
the fungus and is thought to result in the disrupted function of the skin,
causing the frog to die.

Symptoms of the disease include abnormal amphibian activity, such as sitting
out during day light hours and reduced mobility. Red colouration
may be present on the stomach and limbs, whilst half-closed eyes and a depressed or
bent over stance may also be present. Sloughs of skin is also often visible
and can accumulate of the outside of the animal.

Chytridiomycosis is a contagious disease, however it only infects
amphibians. The Chytrid fungi spores infect frogs when their skin comes into
contact with water containing these spores, from other infected animals. Therefore
proper hygiene and handling protocols are important when coming into contact with amphibians.
Current permit information can be found on the QLD Frog Society's
Laws and Permits for keeping Frogs page.
Creating a frog-friendly garden is however always encouraged. Visit Frogs in Your Garden by the
QLD Frog Society and/or Attracting frogs to your
garden by the Queensland Government - Department of
Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP).

Chytrid fungus is widespread throughout most of Australia, and as such is difficult to contol.
There are no proven methods to date that enable for the control of the disease in the wild, despite
various research projects and scientific attempts. Understanding the impact of
chytridiomycosis in wild populaions will allow for imrpoved mitigation and contol of
the threat. This means monitoring frog populations for the disease and detecting new outbreaks
is very important, as is creating restricted and controlled areas to protect certain
susceptible species.

If you are travelling through potentially infected areas, appropirate
hygiene controls are necessary, including washing of hands, footwear and
equipment before and after leaving such areas, and only handling amphibians
when absolutely necessary, using single-use vinyl gloves or a clear plastic bag.
If necessary, only purchasing amphibians from licensed suppliers is another way to prevent the
spread of the disease.

If you come across a sick frog or mass mortality in the wild, please contact your local
community group, frog society or environmental department immediately. Additonally, animals
suspected of chytrid disease can be collected using gloves and send for diagnosis.

For more information on Chytridiomycosis, check out this
fact sheet from the Australian Government.

It is now illegal to transport frogs, their eggs and
tadpoles from location to location, due to potential spread
of the chytrid fungus and unsuitability of new habitat
location/type. Scientists and community groups do
not encourage the keeping of frogs as pets. Permits are
necessary and not all frog species are suitable. Current permit information can be found on the QLD Frog Society's
Laws and Permits for keeping Frogs page.
Creating a frog-friendly garden is however always encouraged. Visit Frogs in Your Garden by the
QLD Frog Society and/or Attracting frogs to your
garden by the Queensland Government - Department of
Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP).

Cane toads

There is only one species of toad in Australia, the cane
toad (Rhinella marina, also known as Chaunus
marinus or Bufo marinus). The various Latin
scientific names arise from ongoing research into their
molecular relationships, with the latest researches
proposing the Rhinella Genus name as the most
accurate.

The cane toad was imported on purpose to Australia back in
1935 as a biological control in an attempt to quash the
cane beetle that had been decimating the Queensland sugar
cane industry. This was unsuccessful (Urban et
al. 2007), however no-one can be
sure of this as there was no base-line data prior to the cane
toads' arrival to compare the before and after result
of cane beetle populations.

Since its release, the cane toad has spread over 1.2
million kilometres between northern New South Wales,
throughout Queensland, across the top of Northern Territory
and recently into northern Western Australia (Australian
Government, 2009). Hence the term 'invasive
species'. Whilst the cane toad has caused some local
species population declines, these species generally
recover soon after, having understood to avoid eating toads
or have become resistant to their toxins. Species
unfamiliar with cane toads who may eat them can die though
due to their unfamiliarity to their toxins (Zug and Zug,
1979) within the Australian landscape.

Below is a list of some native wildlife that a few studies
have found to be negatively impacted by the cane toad. It
is argued however that this evidence is only anecdotal
(unreliable or subjective) and that there are quite
likely to be other causes of declines. These populations
usually recover though, as was the case of a study on
crocodiles in tropical Australia, which found no population
decrease despite the presence of cane toads (Somaweera and
Shine, 2012).

Northern quoll (Australian Government, 2009)

Ornamental snake (Australian Government, 2009)

Green and golden bell frogs (Australian Government,
2009)

Rainbow bee-eaters (Boland, 2004)

Crocodiles (Letnic et al., 2008)

Bluetongue lizards (Price-Rees et al.
2010)

Frog tadpoles (Crossland et al. 2008)

In April 2005, the cane toad was listed under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
as a key threatening impact on the survival and abundance
of native species and their respective communities.

Cannibalistic behaviour increases in arurans (frogs and
toads) when density of individuals is high or when their
food source languishes (Crump, 1992). Scientific research
reveals that cane toads do not eat frogs, instead
preferring other forms of food, but on occasions will eat whatever fits in their mouth. Some native frogs will eat other native
frogs on occasion too. Cane toads, juveniles and cane toad
tadpoles do not eat frog tadpoles (Crossland et al.
2011).

The Australian Government has acknowledged cane toads are a
national problem, but that except locally, total
eradication is not possible (Australian Government,
2009). Over $11 million was invested by the Australian
Government into CSIRO research for a biological control for
the cane toad, however after a review into the project in
2008 recommend it be discontinued due to technical
hurdles, long term project feasibility and other
difficulties (Shannon and Bayliss, 2008). There are other
ways of managing toad numbers, such as the use of a
conditioned taste aversion (CTA) (as experimented on the
northern quoll) and identifying toad breeding habitats and
modifying these to make them less suitable for toads and
more appropriate for frogs.

Despite the hype and hypothesising though, cane toads are
not as big of problem as they are usually thought to be and
are far, far less destructive than feral cats, foxes and pigs, for
example.

To discover if toad tadpoles
actively search for cane toad eggs, funnel traps containing
toad and native frog tadpoles were placed in a water body,
positioned to mimic natural egg deposition. Some traps
also had toad eggs placed inside. Control traps contained
no toad eggs. The results found that
the addition of toad eggs to traps returned a huge
(86-fold) increase in the rate of toad tadpoles captured. A
few native frog tadpoles were collected in both trap
treatments, but much less than toad tadpoles caught,
suggesting this might be an effective way of removing toad
tadpoles without affecting many frog tadpoles.

Scientists found that the toad tadpoles were attracted to
conspecifics (of the same species) by the chemicals that
make up the toads' toxicity. This resulted in cane toad tadpoles eating cane toad eggs to
decrease competition amongst the species for food,
resources etc. It is also thought these tadpoles gain a
nutritional benefit from eating the eggs, and other dead
toad tadpoles. Thus, the scientists were able to take
advantage of the cane toads' own toxins, which
ironically is their downfall. A significant sized body of
water was able to be completely eradicated of cane toad
tadpoles by removing them as they were attracted to
conspecific eggs. Whilst Professor Rick Shine does not
expect this method to totally eradicate cane toads from
Australia, but it is certainly possible in local areas.
This method is also quite effective because it targets the
reproduction of cane toads, by eliminating their eggs and
tadpoles in concentrated areas, rather than roaming adults.
(Crossland and Shine, 2011; Crossland et al., 2011).

A recent paper by Prof. Rick Shine and his team argue that the fridge/freezer method is the best way to humanely dispose of cane toads. Whilst this method has up to
recently received a lot of unsubstantiated criticism, Rick demonstrates through empirical evidence that the cane toad body cools at the same rate as the cane toad brain. This means that
whilst freezing the animal it is unable to perceive pain (Shine et al. 2015). Cane toads should first be placed in the fridge for several hours until they are unconscious, before then
placing them in the freezer for several days.

Aside from this method which is ONLY to be used if you are 'toadally sure' you have a cane toad, other control methods include:

Vegetating the edges of any water bodies/ponds in your yard acts as a natural barrier to cane toads as they prefer open, easy-access entry to breed in the water.
This is not to say you will not totally prevent toads from clambering over low-growing plants to reach water, but it should deter most toads from doing what they do best!

Targeting cane toads at the egg and tadpole stage, which has been discussed above is the most effective control method as many individuals can be targeted at once.

There are other methods which ARE NOT appropriate to use for cane toad control. These include:

An aerosol product called 'Hopstop'
which is created to paralyse the toad once it has been
sprayed, eventually killing it. Time until death takes approx. 45 mins and therefore this product is not endorsed here. For more on this product,
have a read of this article from the
Queensland Frog Society Inc.

Kicking, clubbing or hitting cane toads just for the 'fun' of it. Cane toads feel pain like any other animal and do not deserve a cruel death for what is not their
own fault.

Spraying toads with Dettol is also not encouraged as the chemical burns which is simply inhumane.

Finally, it must be stressed that before you decide to do anything with a cane toad, be absolutely certain it is a cane toad as
there are many local native frogs with a similar appearance to toads in the eye of the untrained.

The skin glands on all frogs produce many compounds that
cover and help to protect the skin from bacteria and
microbes that may infect the skin, and from predation.
These compounds could therefore be generally toxic to some
animals and humans. The best advice is do not
put a frog in your mouth, and wash your hands after
touching them (if you need to touch in the first place).